Martin's Get This gets the chop

By Daniel Ziffer

TONY Martin's nationally networked radio show has been axed, despite being one of the top rating programs on struggling station Triple M.

The comedian's Get This program has been a successful annoyance for the Austereo network, which shifted its timeslot three times in just over 18 months.

In a pattern repeated across the country, figures jumped from about 5 per cent audience share to about 11 per cent during the two-hour program, when it aired from 11am. They fell back to near 6 per cent when the station returned to music.

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Triple M programmer Shaun Gough yesterday said the show was axed to focus company attention and resources on new breakfast shows debuting across the country. In Melbourne, Peter Helliar and Myf Warhurst are replacing The Cage, the fifth most-popular breakfast show.

Money was not the main issue for the show, he added, which soaks up production and editing time.

The Age understands Martin's company, International Skylarking, employs everyone involved with the show and the programming director has no control over this.

"They have a 'no air check' policy on that show," a source said, referring to the typical post-show process where the program director critiques the show.

Martin powered the Austereo network in the late 1990s. With Mick Molloy, the Martin/Molloy drive program had millions of listeners. Martin had tussles with management over the amount of music he played.